NATIONAL VIDEO

Part of I-985 ramp set to open Tuesday; expect detours

Part of the Atlanta Highway/Ga. 13 interchange is set to open on Tuesday.

Motorists traveling south on Interstate 985 will be able to exit onto Atlanta Highway, which has been widened to four lanes across I-985 to Mundy Mill Road/Winder Highway, or Ga. 53.

In the next two weeks, the Georgia Department of Transportation plans to open the new northbound on-ramp from Atlanta Highway to I-985, temporarily close the northbound on-ramp from Mundy Mill Road to I-985, shift traffic on I-985 and re-open the Park-N-Ride lot on Wallis Road for carpoolers.

"The business community on (Ga. 53) needs to know that none of the ramps to 53 will be affected," said District Engineer Russell McMurry. "Customers will have full access to all of the businesses."

But closing the northbound ramp means detours.

Motorists traveling east on Mundy Mill Road can reach I-985 north by the new connector road, or Thurmon Tanner Parkway, in front of Gainesville State College and the new Ga. 13 northbound ramp.

Motorists on Ga. 53 will use Atlanta Highway as the detour. The Ga. 53 northbound ramp is set to be reopened by March 1.

The overall $75 million project is scheduled for a February 2010 completion.